Rescue
by novembernovember
Summary: The Winchesters need help taking down the Leviathan. They are sent to find a girl to take them to a weapon to fight them, but its not what they're expecting and they get more than they bargained for, as usual. (warning: possible triggers)
1. Chapter 1

_(trigger warning)_

_Castiel is dead. The Leviathan are on the loose, wreaking havoc on the earth. The Winchester brothers have no known defense against them... At least they don't think they do..._

* * *

"I don't know what some little girl has to do with fighting off levis," Dean sighed, adjusting his tie as he and Sam approached the hospital doors.

"Well, its the only thing we have right now ok? Are you sure this is the place?" Sam's forehead wrinkled as he glanced back down at the torn piece of notebook paper Bobby had handed him.

"Milledgeville, Georgia! And this is the only place that has any record of a girl named Sarah Smith currently admitted. And Bobby said that if we find her, we find this Ramona girl, and if we have her, we can get to the leviathan shield."

The nurse at the front desk, after a quick badge flash, led the boys to the third floor. Sam shot Dean a nervous look when he saw that they were entering the locked psychiatric floor.

There was a piercing scream as they went around the corner. A girl with lilac hair braided down her back, bolted out of one of the rooms, orderlies swarming after her.

"No!" she shrieked, kicking, clawing as three large men tried to contain her, "I'll kill every last one of you!"

Dean looked at the nurse beside him as she shook her head.

"Well," she gestured towards the scene, "There's Sarah. If you'll just wait here for a moment? We need to secure her before you come back."

The nurse jogged down the hall to assist the other staff with the writhing girl. The boys turned to each other, and Dean whispered, "Why the hell do we always end up with the freaking crazy chicks?"

Sam chuckled, "I know. But its worth a shot."

Sarah, when the Winchesters entered her room, was strapped by her arms to the bed. Her eyes were closed, head against the wall.

"Miss Smith?" Dean probed after a moment. One eye flew open.

"Yes? Who's asking?"

"I am agent Cole," Sam began, "and this is agent Birks - "

"Bullshit!" She coughed.

"Excuse me?"

"You really expect me to believe you're Feds? No way, Jose. Cut the crap, you're too... I don't know, young, but you don't fool me, I may be crazy, but I'm not gullible. What do you want?"

Sam looked her over. She looked hollow. She was tall, and 19 or 20 years old maybe? But she looked battered and beaten. Her neck was all bruise, both yellowing old and new dark blue. She had a busted hand and scars lacing up and down her arms, and a crusty scabbed over gash on her chest, dark enough that he could see through her white tank top. Her face was as pale as the purple of her hair, and her lips cracked and faded.

"You're hunters," she said flatly, when neither of the brothers said a word.

Dean's eyes widened as he opened his mouth whispered, "We need to talk to you about finding something - "

"I was told you would be here," she cut him off, "I just didn't think you'd be here so soon."

Sam's lips formed a hard line, "Sarah-"

"Oh, please. My name's Ramona. Ramona Scut."

"What can you tell us about the leviathan shield?" Dean gently questioned, "What is it? Where is it? What does it do?"

Ramona locked eyes with Sam, who was standing at the foot of her bed. Her lower lip quivered, her eyes were shiny with moisture as if she were about to burst out into tears. "I... I don't know. I can tell you that something in the walls of this place is inhibiting my... strength so to speak. I'm not much use. They have me pretty worn down. I've been here over a year."

The boys stepped out.

"Dean, we have to get this poor girl out of here," Sam sighed to his brother, running his fingers through his hair in distress. "Even if there isn't any sort of demonic activity here, I'm pretty damn sure they're abusing her. Whether we actually need her help or not, she needs ours. We _cannot _leave her here."

"Yeah... I know. But how are we going to spring her?"

"I think I have an idea. Hold on a minute."

Sam reentered the room and pressed his lips against Ramona's ear.

"We're going to get you out of here, ok?"

... The dam broke and the tears came in a flood.

"Thank you."

"How exactly do you monitor your high-risk patients on this floor?" Dean asked the section's head nurse.

"We keep them in the rooms that have surveillance cameras installed. They stay on 24 hours a day."

"And how often do you actually check the tapes?"

"Honestly, its for the family to have a piece of mind. We run them to make their loved ones know they're safe, but we never check them, we have so many staff members, so we don't have the need to."

"Where may I take a look at these tapes?"

She opened a drawer and pulled out a key. "Last door on the right."

Dean handed the key to Sam when they reached the room. It was small, dark, cramped, had several monitors on the far right wall. Sam scrolled through all the files until he found room 2205, where Ramona was.

Neither of the boys were able to watch much of the footage, it only got worse and worse.

Atrocious.

"Well, abuse is an understatement," Dean's voice cracked. But no one was there, the door hung ajar where Sam had already stormed out.

Ramona's door flew open, Sam at her side in an instant, unhooking her restraints.

"We're leaving," he muttered, "Right now. Let's get your things, ok? Are they under the bed?" He helped her off the bed and tossed her shoes to her.

"Um.. yeah. I don't really have anything. I mean, there's the few books and journals in my back pack."

"This one?" he held up a brown beat up bag.

"Yeah."

"No jacket? Its cold outside, even for the south."

"No, I told you, that's all I have."

Sam looked up at her, white shirt, thin grey hospital pants, ratty sneakers, and handed her his coat, even though it wuld swallow her, the poor thing was so frail.

Ramona and Sam approached the desk at about the same time Dean was returning the key.

"You can't just take a patient with you!" The nurse yelled, "Especially not from this floor."

"Well ma'm we have reasons to believe you have been neglecting this patient, even going as far as to mistreat her," Sam put his index finger in her face, "In fact, we know you have. You've been allowing the male orderlies to beat, choke and _rape_ her while you've tied her to the bed. We're taking her with us, and if you try to stop us, none of you will ever see employment ever again, and we'll conduct a full investigation. Have a nice day."

"Kiss this place goodbye," Dean muttered as he helped her into the backseat of the Impala, "because you're a free woman now."

The heat in the Impala was comforting, the first warmth Ramona had felt in... God knows how log it had been. She was still swaddled in Sam's giant coat, with her head on her backpack. _Maybe I'm safe now, _she thought as she was on the cusp of sleep, _or maybe not. At least now I can fight._

A dainty snore escaped her, and Sam glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping runaway. They had no idea who this girl was, but something about her...

"I think," Dean stated, cutting into Sam's thoughts, "We are going to have to risk a motel tonight. We're in fucking nowhere-ville, I feel like we'll be ok."

"Uh, yeah I guess. Besides," Sam reached deep into his pocket, "I skimmed some cash off the nurse."

"She _bribed _you?"

"Sorta, yeah. I mean _she _doesn't know there's nothing we can do."

Dean threw his head back laughing wickedly, "What would I do without you, Sammy?


	2. Chapter 2

It felt strange having a girl on the team. _Well, one that's not a drunken one night stand, _Dean speculated to himself as he spat the excess toothpaste from his mouth. He stepped out of the bathroom. Sam had run off to do whatever it is he does in the morning, and Ramona was sitting up on her bed trying to brush all the knots from her hair, which was spilled over the front of her shoulders.

"Good morning hunter who has yet to tell me his real name," she sarcastically chimed with a smile.

"Dean. Dean Winchester. And the big guy, he's my brother, Sam."

"Well, Dean, you already know my name," her voice was hoarse, Dean noted, matching her tattered body.

Even out of the harsh florescent of the hospital, it still looked pretty bad, almost worse. The scars on her arms were deep scarlet, some raised, some smooth; some cris-crossed and others were in neat little rows. The bruises on her neck and upper arms matched the elongated shape of fingers, where she's been gripped and choked. Her left hand had white bandages wrapped around it, but he could see that her fingers were blue with bruises, as was her wrist.

Dean had to look away. Even with all the shit he'd seen, he'd never get over things like this. There were two kinds of monster in the world, and he couldn't be sure which he hated more.

The door opened, and Sam walked in, a duffle bag in hand.

"Good!" He grinned, "You guys are up! I got you something... here."

He tossed the bag to Ramona. With a skeptical look and a half beat of hesitation, she unzipped it. Unexpectedly, it was filled with clothes.

She looked up at Sam, "I don't understand..."

Sam pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket, "Well," he took her hand and cut the paper hospital bracelet off of her wrist, "We can't have you running around in what you've got on, and you don't have anything else. So i went to the GoodWill down the road and got you a few things."

"Awesome," Dean said as he sat on the other bed. "Go change so we can go get some grub, I'm starving."

The bathroom door shut with a click. Ramona stripped down to her underwear. To be so skinny, her face was still round. She managed to wrestle her hair into a nice bun at the nape of her neck, with a small careful braid along the right of her head that tucked in the back with the rest.

Sam had done well guessing her size, Ramona silently commended as she shimmied into a pair of jeans. She was just about to slip on a long sleeved black tee shirt, when she caught sight of herself in the mirror - something she'd been trying to avoid.

Her heart was racing. She fumbled through an inside pocket of her backpack. Her fingers found something long, cold, and metal.

_Ah, there it is!_

She popped the plastic cap off the pin-knife, revealing a triangular blade. With a sadistic grin, she pressed it into her upper arm, a few inches above the crook of her elbow, inhaling deeply, closing her eyes as the blood began to flow. It was a sick little habit, Ramona was fully aware of that. But it helped her stay in check, mentally, physically... The lights flickered as her eyes flew open.

Her strength was building back up.

Bandaging wrapped tightly, shirt on, it was time to go eat, finally. Though she'd never let the boys know, she too was starving.

"Ready?" Sam asked as he stood, handing Ramona a grey jacket.

The three walked down the block through the dry winter air to a diner down the block. Sam seemed... chipper? for someone who had slept maybe 4 hours on a lumpy couch. But she didn't know him or his brother, not really, so perhaps he was accustomed to it; after all, he was a hunter.

Dean on the other hand - well, she wasn't quite sure yet. He was attractive no doubt, but the way he held himself showed that he was aware of it. He was a hard-ass, no doubt though.

After they sat down and ordered, an awkward silence fell over the table. Ramona looked from one brother to the other and, at last, prodded, "So how did you know where to find me? The last time I went off with a group of hunters, I was 17 and they tried to kill me."

"A close friend of ours gave us your name," explained Sam, "He said he worked with your twin brother Mordecai?"

"And who is this friend of yours?"

"Bobby Singer."

"I haven't heard _that _name in a while. Yeah, he helped me disappear for a bit after my brother died... but I was found shortly after."

"Can you tell us what happened?" Dean coaxed. Ramona took a sip of coffee, cutting her eyes up at him, her lips set in a hard line.

"Why, so you can jump to conclusions like that other circle of hunters and try to gank me? I don't think so, Mister Winchester. You're just going to have to trust me... because Bobby does."

"What reason would they have to that? C'mon," Dean said as casually as he could, "If we have to trust you, you should at least trust _us." _

Ramona rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. Ok, so they did deserve to know what they were getting into, but she still had to watch her step.

"Fine," she paused for a moment, taking a bite of cheese eggs, "Fine. Mordecai and I... we were close, a lot like you guys are. When I... started changing, growing into some abilities, so to speak, things began to go sour. He didn't trust me. I tried to talk to Bobby about it, to see if he could talk to the boy. Mordecai wouldn't listen to anyone though. He gathered a group of hunters together, he knew he couldn't take me alone..."

The rims of her eyes were red. Her voice was shaking. Sam placed his hand over her good one, and whispered, "Whatever happened, you obviously regret it. We aren't going to chastise you for that, ok? We won't hurt you, not unless you threaten us. Its ok," he gave her a napkin to wipe her eyes, "What happened next?"

"He found the old shack I'd sort of made my home. All that was there were my books and some candles. I was... working on something I'd been commissioned. He comes barging in, saying he's got back-up out by the road. I can either come with him without a fight, or I could make a mess. I told him no, I hadn't done anything wrong, but he didn't care. He was convinced that I was going to snap," Ramona turned to the side, her jaw taught, her face a mix sadness, anger, and hurt.

"This is usually where I lose my audience," she added before continuing, "He dragged me out by my hair. I screamed for him to stop, I didn't want to hurt him. He just kept cursing me. So i put my foot down. We fought. I won. The other hunters came for me, and tried to hang me. Bobby came out of no where and cut me down. He helped me cover my tracks for a few years, but they found me anyway. One minute I'm tied up in a hotel room, then I've got one of their heads under my boot, then I'm out. And I wake up, after god knows how long, in the hospital. That's that."

For a moment, none of them said a word. Which was understandable, Ramona shrugged silently, what do you say to something like that? At least they weren't going for their weapons.

"If Bobby trusts you," Dean said, almost to himself, "then I do too."

"Yeah, me too. I don't mean to put salt in any wounds, but why is it that your brother turned on you? Did he just... I don't know, go guano? You said - "

"I know," she cut him off. "I am a _perditus bellator, _or in English, it translates to _lost warrior_or as others like to call it, a wild card. It means that I was born with some abilities, so to speak, that ordinary humans aren't given. I have to keep my emotions in check or things can get interesting. I am _NOT _a witch, I can see it by the look on your face. And I'm not a demon either, you can do whatever tests you please, but nothing is going to happen."

Dean chuckled, "Its ok, we already did all that while you were asleep last night."

"I've read about that actually!" Sam said enthusiastically, eyes widening, "I thought it was just a myth, because there hasn't been one in, god, hundreds of years. But the selection is completely random, right? Completely normal families with no magical blood or anything, then all of a sudden, boom."

"Boom," Ramona repeated with a giggle. "The two of you are taking this surprisingly well, I'm shocked."

"Well, this isn't the most bizzare-o thing we've stumbled into. Besides, you seem nice enough for now..." Dean trailed off tilting his head to the side, "But I do have another question: If you're so powerful, why... how were you stuck in that hospital?"

"Your guess is good as mine, to be honest. There was something _somewhere, _maybe in the food? The walls? Either way, it was inhibiting everything I could do, even draining the energy I had left."

"...Interesting..."

In the midst of their conversation, the trio had failed to notice the rest of the restaurant had gone rather quiet. Sam was the first to notice, and gave a look to Ramona, who in turn looked at Dean. The waitress was standing a few feet away, staring at the ground, not even blinking, as were the rest of the patrons.

"The hell is going on?" Ramona muttered.

Her question was soon answered as two men, middle aged, plainly dressed, approached them. She stood up, but before she could think, Sam and Dean were in front of her, blocking her from their view.

"Step away from the girl," the bulkier of the two growled. "We need her."

He blinked, his eyes going black.

Demons. Great.

"No way," Dean hissed sticking his hand back, as if to prevent Ramona from getting around him.

"Come on, Winchester. The king needs her."

"For what?" Dean spat.

"That's classified, though I'm sure it can't be far from what you're using her for. We all want the same thing. Hand the little bitch over... Before this gets nasty, alright?"

"Crowley... we don't exactly see eye-to-eye on most things. I'm going to have to take a rain-check on that; we're keeping the girl, end of story."

"Fine, you asked for it."

Just as the knife was being drawn from Dean's pocket, the boys flew against the walls, leaving Ramona exposed in the middle of the room.

"Ah, there she is," purred the other demon with a sinister, toothy grin, "Our very own little bellator. I'm a little disappointed, I thought you'd be more striking."

"Ramona!" Sam yelled from the left, "Run! Please! Just run!"

Ramona ignored Sam's pleas for her to flee the scene. If she did, the boys would most likely die, and she owed them. She had to help them.

"I suppose Crowley made you think I'd be easy to capture, no? I mean, I'm just a little girl, how hard could it possibly be? I'm so young, I can't possibly know the extent of my power, right?" Ramona chimed with dopey wide eyes and slight grin. The demons said nothing as they gave her a skeptical glare. Sam and Dean had fallen silent, staring wide eyed as well.

"Tell your king, that I am _no _servant," Ramona's voice was nearly a whisper. She snapped her fingers, and the boys were released, falling to the floor gasping. The other two men were frozen in their tracks.

Ramona raised her hand towards the other two men and quietly growled, "_Ad flammas! Ad alligandos lacum!" _

A pillar of fire engulfed the demons, whirling like a hurricane. There was screaming and light and confusion... and then nothing. The activity of the diner went along as it had been, Ramona standing by the table. Sam approached her, realized she was trembling, and put his arm around her shoulders, guiding her out to the car, Dean following closely behind. They'd only made it halfway across the parking lot before she collapsed. Sam scooped her up into his arms. She wasn't unconscious, not really. Her eyes locked with Sam's, tears beginning to flow silently down her cheeks.

"Those were innocent human souls, Sam," she stuttered. "I torched two human souls."

Sam sighed as he gently laid her on the backseat of the Impala. "Its ok. Those bodies were battered anyway. You set them free... And you saved us. What the hell was that?"

"I told you. I have powers. It usually doesn't - " she was interrupted with a fit of coughing, " - usually drain me like this. I suppose its because I'm still not back to full charge after the hospital."

"Well," Dean grunted as he and his brother got into the car and took off, "you'll have some time now. We need to haul ass to Bobby's. Especially if the demons are after you now."


End file.
